It seems the NBA Western Conference is experiencing a changing of the guard during these Conference Playoffs series. Gone are the Dallas Mavericks, every ones darlings of the regular season; sent packing by eighth seed  Golden State led by guards Baron Davis and Derek Fisher. Houston we have a problem. Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, members of the A-list of recognizable NBA names and members of the Houston Rockets are no longer around thanks to a young bunch of upstarts called the Utah Jazz whose names, Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur, most people can’t pronounce. 

Now that the Western Conference has rid itself of the pretenders, Dallas and Houston, the new contenders, Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors will feed on each other when their best of seven conference semi-final series begins tonight in Salt Lake City. 

It will be hard to predict a winner in this series but we will do our best to break it down so you can make a decision on who owns the advantage. The teams split the four game regular season schedule with each team winning straight up (SU) on its own home court. Golden State was the most profitable to its backers according to the betting board covering 3-of-4 games against the spread. Of the four games played between Golden State and Utah, the total went under in 3-of-4 games.

In tonight’s Game-One, the Jazz are a -4.0 favorite according to oddsmakers at Bookmaker.com with a 207 total. The betting public isn’t buying as 68 percent of the early spread money and 92 percent of money line bets have been wagered on Golden State. The public is split on the total with those favoring the OVER and UNDER split 50/50. 

This looks to be a very entertaining series as both Utah and Golden State appreciate being here. As I said earlier, it is difficult picking a favorite between these two teams in a series that could go seven games. I know both home venues can be difficult for the visitor so I must go with the Jazz giving the -4.0 points in tonight’s game. I also like the UNDER 207.

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